Mahler 2! (QSCO Performance) and Unravel

April 3, 2016, 2:52 PM · My first experience with Mahler was last year in Peoria, at the end of January 2015, when the All-State Orchestra played the first movement, and I got to watch a rehearsal, being there to get inspired for composition. For whatever reason, I had never really thought of listening to the entire symphony, until this afternoon, when the QCSO played the entire thing. I had gone to the library and was following the score during the performance, and I got chills several times - especially at the very end of the piece, with sounds I don't think I have ever heard the likes of before today, my hands were shaking as I flipped the pages! This symphony, while it is a major step in the opposite direction of the French music I normally associate myself with and listen to, still brought chills as I listened to the large and dark chords. The horns were even off-stage, which was such a neat effect, hearing life - you could absolutely tell how silent it was inside the hall, yet outside the music carried on. The second movement was very Classical in nature, and made it a great offset to the rest of the dark stuff. That's what I think I enjoyed most about the piece, how Mahler combined so many different moods and styles into one piece. It is just such a cool thing to me, to spend the morning practicing on my own, and then getting to enjoy a concert where my favourite instrument is showcased within the orchestra. After the concert, inspired by the pink pedals blooming on a tree, I did a little Cherry Blossom Festival music of my own, which maybe fell in-between French music and the softer (flute) moments of Mahler's work. Spring is definitely blooming, and I hope I will be able to, as well.

Also, I just wanted to mention how I first checked up on the violinist.com community yesterday, and found the Weekend Vote and other things talking about purchasing a violin, which, as you may know, I did recently. As I've been getting back into composition, I haven't been really thinking much about my violin as I used to, although having this new instrument definitely makes rehearsals and practicing so much more enjoyable than when I had my student-quality instrument - I can actually get a great sound and get great rewards for my vibrato and rings and things. So thanks for all the support!

Finally, saying I've been getting back into composition, I'm working on a strings Baroque dance suite in my own style, which is getting very French. Every year in my orchestra in high school we would play a conductor-less dance suite, which I'm sure I've mentioned in the past - we've played Holberg and St. Paul's (Grieg and Holst), and I can't remember the third one, if we did. That's the main inspiration for getting me to write this. Before Easter, I wrote a beautiful Serabande that I really enjoy, and I've been working on orchestrating that. It'll be fun to return to strings music, after not really doing much after my Japanese oboe and violin duo which I finished in February, but I'm very excited to get back into composition and continue to follow my passion!

I really need to change my picture to showcase my new instrument... I'll do it sometime!

Here is where I talk about Mahler 2 when I heard it the first time.

I also, really quickly, wanted to mention a new game that I've fallen in love with, called Unravel, released in February 2016. One reason I love it is because it takes place entirely in nature, where you play as a little yarn creature, but the main thing that really excited me was the music, which is almost entirely fiddle music, with some other instruments like piano, acoustic guitar, viola, and cello thrown in the mix.

This is on the making of the soundtrack.
Here is the soundtrack.
And if you're interested in seeing the game too, combining nature sounds with all that music...

Thanks for reading!

Replies

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Mahler 2! (QSCO Performance) and Unravel

Replies

Subscribe

Laurie's Books